Henrik smiled as he put his phone away. The crisis of Marcus was about to be averted, and Bernie was on her way to rescue her beloved. If he were one to indulge in thoughts of fairy tales and other flights of fancy, he could imagine it being a bit like Prince Charming coming to save the day. Slipping the phone back into his pocket, he scanned the ballroom, taking in the happy people as they danced in time to the music.

Thanks to his height, he was able to see a little farther into the crowd, and he frowned deeply when he saw the positively despairing way Serena was trying to get Marcus to stop whatever he was saying to her. Frowning a little, he focused in on them, watching the scene that was playing out before his eyes. He was so engrossed with them that he failed to notice Ric come up to his side until the man had cleared his throat.

"I think that we have a serious problem on our hands, and one of us need to do something about it," he said without preamble. Henrik nodded, returning his gaze to Serena and Marcus. Her back was ramrod straight, even if she did have a patently false smile plastered on her lips, which indicated she was far more upset than she was letting on.

"I agree, and I've already taken care of it. In about thirty minutes, Ms. Wolfe will join the party and take care of Marcus for us."

Ric turned to gawp at him, and he shrugged as he gave the older man a tiny smirk. "Why didn't you think to do that hours ago? Before Serena got drunk and Marcus got handsy?"

Henrik licked his lips a little as he thought over his answer. "I seriously thought that Serena would be able to hold her own. As the evening progressed, we both saw that this was clearly not the case, and I decided to call in reinforcements. People can only move so quickly, Ric, especially when the need is present to be dressed to the nines."

"And what are we going to do until Bernie gets here? Sit on our thumbs and spin? I have the distinct feeling that Marcus is going to continue getting further and further into Serena's personal space, and she is going to come closer and closer to handing him his balls on a silver platter."

"I do think that Ms. Wolfe would love her forever if that happened. And from what I've heard, there would be a line to congratulate her a mile long. Marcus has done nothing to engender sympathy with a good number of people."

"Namely me."

Henrik looked up to see Margaret joining their little group, a dark look on her face. "I'm sorry, Margaret?"

"If one of you doesn't go onto that dance floor and rescue Serena, I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands and do it myself. That man is practically groping her in front of everyone out there! And the fact that you can so blithely stand here and discuss the casual castration of that prick, well, it infuriates me! Serena is worth much more than this."

Henrik had the good graces to blush a little at her admonishment, while Ric stared at the floor, studying the tiles. "She is, Margaret, which is why I called Bernie here, to save her. It's only going to be a little while longer, and then Serena will be rescued."

Margaret shook her head, causing her curls to fly a little bit. "You lot just don't get it! It's not about waiting for the right person to do the saving, it's about stepping in and doing the right thing."

"She has a point, Mister Hanssen. One of us should go out there and step in." Ric looked up at him, a frown on his face. "I mean, she did practically beg me to rescue her out there."

"All right, go over there and see if you can keep Marcus occupied until Bernie gets here. I'll call and see if I can get her to come a little quicker."

Ric nodded as he held out his arm to Margaret. She graciously took it, and Henrik watched as they stepped into the crowd of people and began to move to the music as they wended their over to where Serena and Marcus were.

After two minutes had passed, he pulled out his mobile once more and opened his call log, pressing Bernie's name. The phone only rang twice before she picked up, answering breathlessly. "Yes, Hanssen?"

"There's been another new development. It seems as if your ex-husband gets a bit handsy when he's enamored with women, and loosened up by liquor. Serena has been able to hold her own so far, but Ric is worried about her."

"From the sound of things, so are you."

Henrik was glad that Bernie was not in front of him at the moment as he found a guilty flush blooming across his cheeks and neck. "Well, her welfare is of utmost concern to me. Since you aren't returning to AAU until Monday, I need her able to work her shift on Sunday, and not be in jail."

"Christ, Hanssen, are things really that bad?"

Her voice had taken on the tinny sound of speakerphone, and he imagined her getting dressed in whatever was at hand in an effort to be faster. "Yes, I rather think they are that bad, Ms. Wolfe. Please, is there any way that you can hurry and be here sooner than thirty minutes?"

"If this blasted zipper would close, I could be there in two shakes of a lamb's tail! I keep getting it jammed in the bloody fabric, and this dress is too delicate to be rough with."

"You're wearing a dress?"

"Yes. It's faster than putting on a tux at this point, and I need to sweep my Fraulein off her feet, quite literally. And I swear to God, Hanssen, if either you or Ric take pictures of me, and they end up spread around AAU, I will have to take drastic measures."

From the low sound of her voice, Henrik knew that she meant business, and he nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I promise that neither of us will use our phones to record the tender moment of your reunion. I make no such promises of anyone else here."

"That will have to do. Finally! All right, I just have to step into heels, apply a little makeup, and then drive over there. I think I can make it in twenty."

"If you could make it fifteen, that would be all the better, Ms. Wolfe. For Serena's sake."

There was a short pause, and in the background, he could hear the clacking of heels against wood. "Just pray that the road is clear and no police are about, so I can drive a little above the limit."

"That I can do, Ms. Wolfe. See you shortly."

There was no goodbye, just the silence of dead air, and he smiled to himself as he tucked the mobile back into his pocket, knowing that things were soon to be right with the world once more.